Friday, May 25, 2012

Lim Guan Eng has come under fire for allegedly threatening to sue reporters if they publish a matter he deems sensitive.

Guan Eng’s action is ironic as he has “all along been for press freedom”.

Yet, he claimed that he would sue them if they wrote anything on the subject of his alleged affair with his curvy female ex-special officer nicknamed “Chai Hong” which means “Rainbow”. That story was carried by the blog “Stop The Lies”

The YouTube clip above features a man’s voice, believed to be Lim’s, speaking to reporters in an angry manner.

The man is heard saying: “I’m not going to even respond. I want you all to print first and you see what I do to your paper.”

How can he wear a yellow ribbon for press freedom and then behave like that? Posing such questions is the job of the press. If the media can’t ask questions, what are they there for? He can just answer yes or no without getting all riled up, right?

Guan Eng however speaks in a harsh tone, threatening reporters rather than giving a press conference. As Chief Minister, shouldn't he be prepared for tough or sensitive questions from reporters rather than get all defensive and threaten journalists who have a duty to ask questions. This is what democracy is all about.

However, it would appear that democracy for Pakatan fellows means that when it involves others, they will shout and scream for democracy but when it involves their own, they will threaten to sue or their godfathers will issue gag orders to stop their members from talking.

Remember this is the same Guan Eng who banned Utusan Malaysia from attending Penang State functions because he does not like what they write about him.

I
have been busy with the Borneo Jazz Festival and the KL International Jazz
Festival lately, but still managed to keep an eye on the news. Things are
certainly cooking in the Malaysian political scene and events are turning quite
melodramatic as the election looms nearer.

For
one, the Government is suing Dumbiga and nine others for RM122,000 over damages
to vehicles sustained during the April 28 Bersih 3.0 rally. The suit claims
that 10 cars, three motorcycles and two water cannon trucks owned by the
Government were damaged when the rally turned chaotic. It also claims that the
vehicles were kicked and pelted with stones, water bottles and rocks by rally
participants.

Under
Section 6(2)(g) of the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 (Act 736), the defendants had
the responsibility, among others, to ensure that the rally would not damage
property. It was further claimed that the April 28 rally went out of control,
turned chaotic and had caused damage to the plaintiff's vehicles.

The
suit is set for mention on June 13 before High Court judge Justice Dr Prasad
Sandosham Abraham.

Secondly,
DBKL enforcement officers are on
stand-by in front of Dumbiga’s house in Bukit Damansara to ensure no unauthorized activities take place.

The
Kuala Lumpur Petty Traders Action Council (KLPTAC) had reportedly planned to
set up stalls in front of Ambiga's house in Bukit Damansara in a protest dubbed
“Bersih 4.0” supposedly to recoup losses they suffered during the Bersih 3.0
rally.

Apparently
the DBKL officers had worked until late at night to paint over the yellow
markings drawn by the Kuala Lumpur Petty Traders Action Council to demarcate
stall lots on the road along her house in preparation for “Bersih 4.0”.

Kuala
Lumpur mayor Tan Sri Ahmad Fuad Ismail was reported to have cited the Street,
Drainage and Building Act 1974, which does not allow people to intrude into
other people’s territory, and advised the group not to proceed with its plan. The
KLPTAC’s “pasar malam protest” was subsequently called off when good sense
prevailed.

KLPTAC
chairman Datuk Jamal Md Yunus said they decided to call it off as they did not
want to go against City Hall and the police. Jamal, who handed over a
memorandum to Ambiga, said the council now planned to gather 150,000 people at
the Bukit Jalil stadium on June 23 to express its rejection of the Bersih
rallies as well as to promote peace.

“We
still want Ambiga to be held responsible for our losses and we don’t want
Bersih to organize any more rallies,” he said.

“Malaysians
who love peace can attend our rally. They also stand a chance to win a
Lamborghini Gallardo and other luxury cars via our lucky draws,” he added. Jamal
had previously announced that Internet users could win the Lamborghini Gallardo
and a BMW by “liking” the council’s Facebook page.

When
asked how the traders could afford such cars, Jamal incredulously said: “As
individuals, we will suffer losses. But when we unite, we can afford to give
away such gifts, no matter how costly it is.”

“We
understand that you are upset because of Bersih 3.0 but this country has laws.
You want to sue Ambiga, go ahead, but gathering in front of her house to cook
things she doesn't eat (beef), showing your backside, then organising a pasar
malam what is all this?” said Tengku Adnan. He said such gatherings were
unbecoming of Malaysians, and urged authorities to put an immediate stop to
such events.

Not
surprisingly, all 31 Selangor DAP Councillors called on the Kuala Lumpur mayor
to resign for not taking action against the petty traders.

Thirdly,
a group calling itself Gerakan Belia Gagasan 1Malaysia converged outside Dumbiga’s
house in Bukit Damansara to voice their protest against the April 28 rally. The
group of 50 youths wearing white T-shirts with the word Halau 1.0 shouted slogans of “Bersih kotor!” and “Halau
Ambiga!”. They handed over a memorandum to Ambiga and demanded that she apologize to all Malaysians for the damage caused due to Bersih rallies.

They
were watched by more than a hundred police and City Hall enforcement officers,
who were on standby at Ambiga’s residence since yesterday afternoon. Vehicles
were not stopped from passing the area. Gerakan Belia Gagasan 1Malaysia
president Shahrul Nasrun Kamarudin then handed over a memorandum for Dumbiga to
Bersih co-chairman Datuk A. Samad Said.

The
Spanker says syabas to KLPTAC’s chairman Datuk Jamal Mohd Yunus for calling off
the protest at Dumbiga’s house because the Police and the DBKL advised him.Whatever our views, we should always respect
the law.

In
the same vein Gerakan Belia 1Malaysia also deserve a syabas. They were
demonstrating peacefully to voice their feelings, right?

Remember
it is Dumbiga and Bersih’s own argument that people can protest peacefully
wherever they want – with or without Police and DBKL approval. So why now make
noise when the shoe is on the other foot?

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

The
Spanker would hazard a guess that everyone has his 15 minutes of fame. In
my case however, I’m not sure if its actually fame or infamy.

You
see, my blogging status has suddenly been elevated to such an extent that I am
now a proud recipient of an anonymous phone threat. Which I find rather
perplexing actually, since I tend to blog and tweet in rather boring and sedate
terms compared to the more vociferous voluminous and vituperative bloggers and twitter-es out there.

I
like to think that I’m also fair, whacking both BN/UMNO and PKR/Pakatan when
they fcuk up respectively. Apparently Mr Anonymous Caller doesn’t think so.

Normally
I would not pick up calls from “private number”, but lately my sister is in the
UK, and her calls register as “private number”. So I nonchalantly picked up
when my phone rang yesterday. The conversation went thus:

Caller:
“Are you Dave Avran?”

Me: “Yes”

Caller:
“I let you know ah, if you don’t stop blogging and tweeting about Ambiga and
Bersih, you will very soon have an accident.” *hangs up.

Me: WTF???

So
like the good Spanker that I am, I duly consulted my Sifu and took his advice
to lodge a Police report.

I
must say, I was impressed with the way the Police handled my report. Kons Md Harris
was courteous and efficient when he took down my report, taking pains to get
the facts right.

Insp
Nasrul was also very efficient when he questioned me about the call, seeming to
know his way around a smart phone when he gently checked my Samsung Galaxy Tab
for details of the caller. He asked my permission to draw my incoming call
details from my service provider, which I gladly gave.

So
there you go. A chore I was dreading to do turned out to be a pleasant
surprise. I now have two new friends in the Police force, complete with their hand phone numbers. Guess every cloud has
a silver lining, so thank you, Mr Anonymous Caller.

By
the way, I intend to continue blogging and tweeting about Dumbiga and Bersih. Or
any other damn subject I fancy.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

The
year 2011 will be remembered for the ways social media — including the use of
smart phones, Twitter and Facebook — ignited struggles for democracy across the
globe.

Images
of rage in Tunisia, after a fruit vendor set himself on fire to protest police
actions, of police brutality in Egypt’s Tahrir Square, and of the dead body of
dictator Muammar Gadhafi went “viral” within minutes.

Texting
created flash mobs during riots in London, Madrid and Athens. The Internet fueled the Occupy Wall Street movement and protests against electoral fraud in
Russia.

Back
home in Malaysia we had the Bersih, Anti-Lynas and Labour Day movements. While
the demands of the Bersih coalition appear to be coherent and apolitical, the
convergence of its leadership with the opposition political establishment
provides the opposition Pakatan Rakyat with the means to mobilize demonstrators
under the benign common cause of “clean and fair elections.”

The
alleged heavy-handed conduct of Malaysian security officials has worked to
further strengthen international condemnation of Malaysia, as well as
alienating the well-intentioned participants of the Bersih 3.0 rally. Unlike Bersih
2.0 in July 2011, the recent demonstrations provoked armed clashes between
protestors and police with cases of violence on both sides.

Although
police barricaded the area surrounding Dataran Merdeka where the rally was
scheduled to take place, violence was not used until demonstrators attempted to
cross police barricades into the Square.

The
security situation deteriorated as defiant protesters refused to disperse,
prompting demonstrators to overturn a police vehicle. Protesters also threw
broken bottles, pieces of metal and concrete slabs towards the police,
prompting police to fire tear gas and water cannons at demonstrators, causing thousands
to disperse into side streets.

In
the ensuing melee, many members of the media on active duty covering the event
were injured. The media must be allowed to perform their duties without being hampered,
threatened or injured.

The
media has always respected the police. Journalists were just there to do their
job. Everybody should respect each others rights and violence should never be
the answer.

As
such The Spanker welcomes investigations into the alleged excessive mishandling
perpetrated by the police on journalists during the Bersih 3.0 rally. If found
guilty, those responsible must be dealt with seriously.

In
conjunction with World Press Freedom Day today, The Spanker thanks the press
fraternity for playing the important role of bridging the people-government
link, without which the correct policies and government transformation plans
would be in futility.

Newspaper
editors have also welcomed Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein's
assurance on the formation of an independent panel to investigate the alleged
rough handling of media personnel.

Bernama's
former editor-in-chief Datuk Seri Azman Ujang said the formation of the panel
was the “most logical thing to do”. He added that the police should respect the
profession of media personnel.

The
Star executive director and group chief editor Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai said
the media was at the rally to cover the protest and not to take part. “It is
ridiculous that some policemen were unable to tell the difference between
protesters and media,”. Wong added that all sides should submit evidence and
also lodge police reports. He said the media stood united on this issue.

The
Malay Mail managing editor Terence Fernandez said he was concerned with the way
the police reacted towards the media that day “because it did not seem like
random assaults”.

He
added that the media needed to discuss with the Home Ministry to see how
reporters and photographers could carry out their jobs unhindered under such
volatile circumstances.

1st MARBC

About Me

is a twisted, wicked, sarcastic, single, dirty old man with 28 years experience in hospitality, entertainment and media. He’s been involved in the senior management of several hotels and resorts and just about every club in the Klang Valley and loves to people watch.
This gives him a unique insider’s perspective and he brings with him a valuable local and regional network of business associates that personally know him on a first name basis.
A seasoned journalist, Dave is currently the Chief Editor and Senior Partner for Frigglive.com and Ascension Media, as well as Media Mafia Malaysia besides having his own company One Media Publishing.
Although Dave is much sought after for his Media Strategist and Media Liaison expertise for his firsthand knowledge and experience, he erroneously thinks he is popular because he can consume large quantities of wine while regaling everyone with witty anecdotes and interesting trivia about his staple liquid diet – alcohol.